The Geneva Protocol bans tear gas from use in war, but U.S. law enforcement uses it lavishly when faced with protesters, as we’ve seen in recent weeks. A group of House Democrats—Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jesús Garcia, and Mark Takano—is looking to change that, with the “Prohibiting Law Enforcement Use of Chemical Weapons Act.”
”To stop us from protesting the death of a Black man who was suffocated by police, law enforcement is using a weapon that restricts our lungs—during a respiratory pandemic,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “It is a horror on top of a horror on top of a horror—and it must end. Banning tear gas is one of many steps we must take in this moment to fundamentally restructure the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they are supposed to protect and serve.”
A U.S. military study found that tear gas increases the risk of respiratory illness. But crappy police really love it—according to the president of Portland’s police union, tear gas is a “best practice” for crowd control. Mind you, according to manufacturers’ instructions, it’s only supposed to be used when people have a clear exit route, and we’ve seen how often police ignore that. So maybe they should back off of talk about “best practices.”
A recent tear gas ban in Seattle was promptly violated as police charged through various loopholes.
The proposed House bill does exempt the use of pepper spray. You’d think that a bill basically calling for a part of the Geneva Protocol to apply in domestic situations would not be a heavy lift, but with Republicans involved, it’s sure to be taken as either laughable or an outrage or both.